Page 44 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

I glanced at her. Her fingers shook so badly she struggled to undo the clasp of the necklace.

“Fuck it,” she growled and with a swift tug she yanked the piece of jewelry from her neck, the clasp breaking free, the strands holding it together raw like a live exposed wire. She cupped the necklace and broken clasp in her hand and with one last look threw it out the window after the earrings.

I relaxed the slightest bit when the window rose upward.

The light ahead flipped from green to yellow to red. After a quick right to left glance, and seeing no other cars, I sailed through the intersection. The car tailing us sped toward the intersection and was about to run the light when a car pulled out in front of it. Tires squealed, they swerved sideways, and came to an abrupt stop.

“Yes!” I slammed the butt of my fist against the steering wheel, happy to put distance between us and whoever the assholes were in the car.

With Gage’s help, we made sure to cover our tracks. Not until we’d arrived safely at the garage would I allow myself a deep breath.

“Once we get settled, we’ll order some food.” I quickly added, “I know you’re probably not hungry right now, but you will be after your adrenaline crashes.”

“Okay.”

I drove around the back of the garage, pulled up to one of the bay doors and flashed my lights twice. The door immediately rolled up and out of the way. Sam Johnson stepped in front of us and guided the car into position. As soon as the tail end of the car cleared the doorway, he hurried over to pull the metal door down and it rattled and banged shut.

I shut off the engine and we unclipped our seatbelts. Jess reached for the door handle, but Sam was already there, opening it for her.

“Thanks.” She stepped out of the car, and he closed it behind her.

“Jess, this is Sam Johnson, he’s a friend and has helped us out before.” I circled in front of the car and joined them. I reached out to shake his hand. “Thanks for this, man.”

“Not a problem.” After three quick pumps, he crossed his arms.

“What is this place?” Jess looked around the high bay.

“It’s a place to hide for a bit,” Sam propped his hands on his hips. “This area is separate from the rest of the garage.” He pointed as he spoke. “There’s a small, combined living room and kitchenette over there, and the bathroom is there.”

“We’re safe here, Jess.”For now, I thought.

Sam emitted a low whistle as he did a slow walk around Jess’ car.

“She’s a beauty.” He dragged his hand lovingly over the surface. “I’ll take good care of her for you.”

“Wait. What?” Jess looked from Sam to me. “I’m not leaving Dahlia here. How do I know you’re not running some kind of chop shop or whatever?”

“Dahlia? You named your car Dahlia?” Sam smirked.

“A beautiful car deserves a beautiful name.” She smiled.

“Sam, will you help me search the car for a tracking device?” I asked.

“Gage said you’d had some trouble on the way here,” he replied and scratched his chin. “2020 Aston Martin DBS Volante, right?”

“It is,” I responded to Sam before turning to Jess. “Hey, why don’t you go grab a cup of tea or coffee.” I gestured to the small kitchenette. “You can hang out and watch us from the couch.”

“I’m fine, Alden, but I’ll do it because there doesn’t seem to be anything else for me to do here.” Her fingertips rubbed at her head, which I guessed might be pounding with the inevitable adrenaline crash.

I didn’t care if she needed an excuse to tell herself as long as she sat down to relax.

“Okay. You ready to get started?” I asked Sam.

“Sure am. Let’s get down to business. Make sure you check both OBD ports. This model has two. We could use a detection device, but without you driving at least eleven miles per hour we’d likely get nothin’,” Sam said to me.

Having a second pair of eyes and hands check Jess’s car was exactly what I needed. We’d get it done in half the time.

Sam popped the car up on the lift to make it easier for us to check the undercarriage. Once we’d finished that we went over the interior as a secondary precaution even though the OBD ports were empty.

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